Review: The Broken Lands by Kate Milford

The Broken Lands by Kate Milford. A Companion to The Boneshaker.

Clarion Books
Publication Date: September 2012
List Price: $16.99
ISBN-13: 9780547739663

Review: The Broken Landsis written by Kate Milford. The main characters are a fifteen year old boy named Sam and a fifteen year old girl named Jin. It is the prequel to The The Boneshakers.

The Broken Lands is about a boy named Sam, who plays cards for a living and lives on Coney Island. He accidentally meets a Chinese girl named Jin, and this sets the stage for the story. Jin's job is to set off fireworks. In the beginning of the story, Jin finds a body, and then passes out when she goes to buy fireworks. When she wakes up, she is with Sam and his adult friends. They find another body behind the Broken Lands Hotel, and they discover in their meeting that one of the adults has a story that relates to the problem. A man named Jack was not allowed to enter God's or the Devil's realm. The Devil gave Jack a piece of coal and told him to create his own place with it. Crossroads are powerful places and the bridge being built between New York and Brooklyn grows stronger by the day. Two creatures that work for Jack try to claim the Crossroads, and then the story gets exciting.

I really enjoyed The Broken Lands. It was a thrilling, action packed story about fighting and saving an 1877 version of New York and Brooklyn. I appreciate electrifying books, and this was no exception. I was not bored reading this thrilling novel. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who enjoys books like The Broken Lands. The only negative is that the book was slow at the beginning, but after a few chapters, the pace quickened. This book held me hostage for the majority of time I was reading it; it was impossible to put it down. The Broken Landswas one of the best books I have ever read, and I look forward to reading The Boneshakers.

Review written by Kyle (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Houghton Mifflin for providing a copy of The Broken Lands for this review.

Have you read The Broken Lands? How would you rate it?